


Desert Heat

by Elphen



Series: Desert Heat, London Warmth [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: ? - Freeform, Alpha John, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Battling instincts, Bickering, Biting, Dirty Talk, Dominant John, Kidnapping, Knotting, M/M, Manipulative Sherlock, Masturbation, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Non-Graphic Violence, Omega Sherlock, Omega Verse, Possessive Behavior, Sandstorm - Freeform, Scenting, Slight dubious consent due to the nature of Omegaverse, soldier John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 11:04:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6076998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elphen/pseuds/Elphen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. Alpha John is still stationed in Afghanistan, yet without bullet wound and without a mate. He is out helping the local village when he is told of someone kidnapping an Omega. What’s more, it’s a male, British Omega. John sets out to rescue the man, attempting to tamp down on the instincts running through him. Meeting the Omega in question only makes that harder, especially as he smells strongly of an upcoming Heat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Desert Heat

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies for the very cheesy title, I am so bad at coming up with those and with a good summary.  
> This is a commission done for a very sweet friend of mine, who was very happy to read it. I am still a bit awed that it’s happened two separate times now, that I’ve been commissioned.  
> No beta or britpicker, all mistakes are mine :)

The heat was immense. That wasn’t really surprising, given where he was, but that didn’t mean he had to like it when the sand blew up and worked its way under his t-shirt where it got stuck due to the sweat. He idly scratched at the area around the neck as he tilted his head back, eyes closed.

“You alright there, Johnny?”

“Hm?”

The man calling him laughed. “You’re just begging to get shot, sitting out in the open like this, not a scrap of protection on you.”

“I’m a medic, not a soldier.” He didn’t bother turning his head or even opening his eyes. He had a few hours off and he was going to enjoy them, no matter what.

“You’re both, you wanker – and since when did medics gain an invulnerability shield?” There was a small sound of grit shifting as the other guy sat down on the same remnants of a wall that John had chosen to occupy for the moment.

“It was presented in that meeting you decided to skip for some Omega action.”

“Ah. Fair trade, then, I think. That was some fine Omega arse.”

“You’d know.”

“Hey, I’m not the one called ‘Three Continents Watson’, am I?” the man said, laughing again as he nudged the other man. John opened his eyes to look at his mate and grinned. “Look, you’ve got your own little harem waiting for you.” He pointed towards a small group of people standing close to the nearest building, many of whom were shooting glances towards them continually.

“They’re teens, Bill – most of them haven’t even presented yet! Don’t be a pervert.” As he spoke, one of the girls managed eye contact with him and she smiled at him and waved, her white teeth shining in the sun. “We’ve just been here so long they’ve gotten used to us, that’s all,” he said as he waved back to her, which caused all of them to bend as if snickering.

“Uh-huh. Definitely that is the reason you’re about the only one they flock around and ask to play games with.”

The Alpha doctor wasn’t going to be baited, though. “Possibly that’s because I don’t leer at the older ones every chance I get, unlike some.” He shrugged. “They’re sweet kids. If they don’t mind playing ball with me, then why would I complain?”

Their conversation was interrupted by the girl who’d waved at them. She’d approached silently, suddenly biting her lip as if she was feeling shy. It wouldn’t be too surprising; she’d presented as an Omega not too long before and was still feeling unsettled by all that was happening to her, both in terms of societal and biological pressures.

John was about to ask her what the matter was when he noticed that she wasn’t alone. In front of her stood a smaller boy, who the doctor knew to be her younger brother, held in place by her hand on his shoulder. It was obvious that he didn’t want to be there, at least not with his sister behind him, as he kept trying to twist out of her grasp, but her grip was firm.

“What’s wrong?” John asked as gently as he could, hoping he didn’t sound patronizing. He knew their grasp of English was limited, even though they’d picked up a lot in the time the soldiers had been there, but he didn’t want them to think he thought they were stupid.

“Rafi, my brother says, he saw...English man like you,” the girl, Ilaaha, said in a halting voice. “Not...soldier...other clothes...”

“How did you know he was English?” Bill may have been a bit of a pervert, but he did know how to treat kids. He ought to, seeing as he had three of his own back home.

“Speak very... _pompously_ ," she brightened up at having navigated the word, “also very pale. Not been here long.” She nodded at the sunburnt skin of both of the soldiers.

“Omega! Omega for Alpha!” the younger boy interrupted, grabbing hold of John’s hand. “Found Omega for Alpha!”

He looked so proud when he said it. The doctor almost felt bad for him that he had to let him down. “That’s very kind of you, but I don’t need an Omega, Rafi.”

This seemed to puzzle and anger the boy. “Omega for Alpha, I found,” he repeated, insistently. “Alpha needs Omega, Omega needs Alpha.”

It was said with such finality in the voice, as if that was the trump card to every argument, that it was difficult for both Bill and John not to smile. Ilaaha looked slightly embarrassed by her brother’s outburst, but Rafi didn’t even notice. “I help find.” He put his hands on his hips and pouted, as if to indicate he was cross with the adults for being stupid.

“Yes. Yes, you did and that’s good, Rafi,” John tried to soothe. “But...the Omega you found might already have a bond mate. I might have an Omega back home.”

The boy actually raised an eyebrow, indicating that he understood English words far better than he was able to articulate them. “Then why say you no need Omega? Why out here alone?”

“Because we’re soldiers,” Billy explained with a patience born out of being used to explaining things to children. “You don’t take your loved ones somewhere there’s danger.”

Rafi opened his mouth, ready to argue again, but his sister put her hand over his mouth to silence him. She excused him and dragged him back towards their group of friends, Rafi visibly struggling all the way.

John shook his head and turned to his friend, ready with a quip along the lines of ‘kids today’, but stopped when he saw the expression on the face of the other. “What?”

“Why don’t you want an Omega?” Sometimes the man could be very blunt.

“I said ‘need’, not ‘want’,” the blonde corrected. Bill’s expression didn’t change. John sighed. “I don’t know...I just don’t want someone to be mine just because they’re an Omega, I guess, and I don’t want to be ruled by hormones, trapping some poor sod in a bond with me just because I happen to be an Alpha and they happen to be an Omega.” He raked a hand through his hair and gave a rueful smile. “I know that sounds horribly sappy, but...”

A hand was laid surprisingly gently on his shoulder. “Nah, mate, I hear you. Of course you have to be all bloody noble about it, but I hear you.” The other Alpha gave a low chuckle. “To be honest with you, I could probably benefit from listening a bit more when you spew stuff like that. The missus would love it, certainly.” With that, he rose from their resting spot. “We’d best get back, I think. Are you coming?”

As they trudged back up to base camp, John shook his head mentally at the notion of him needing an Omega. It was endearingly sweet of the boy, of course, but there was no way he was going to start his matchmaking career on John.

He couldn’t help wonder, at the back of his mind, what kind of man Rafi had immediately deemed a good match for John, though.

 

* * *

 

About a week later he was out to check up on a local elderly man who he’d treated before for some nasty cough. There was no real fighting occurring at the time and there hadn’t been for a while, so he and a few of the other medics went out to help the local population with what little they could. It may have seemed idiotically altruistic to some and possibly it was, but it was also a way of finding something to occupy the time with that would save them going spare from boredom.

The old man in question didn’t much want to see him, when it came down to it. He didn’t speak English, but he made shooing noises to indicate that he wanted John to go away. His wife smiled at the doctor, though, and the son admonished his father in rather strong tones, by the sound of it.

After some strong negotiation to make him understand that he should take the cough seriously this time, seeing as pneumonia was no joke, and promised to see if he could scrounge up some antibiotics, John stepped back out the door, shaking his head. Alpha patriarchs and their stupid pride – some things really were universal, sadly.

He only managed to walk half a street before he felt something tugging on his sleeve. Looking down, backwards and a bit to the side, he saw that a small hand had attached itself to the fabric, a hand which belonged to Rafi.

What is it, Rafi?” he asked. He attempted to dislodge the hand gently as he turned to face him properly, but the boy held on, even if he was no longer tugging.

“Found Omega.” He spoke earnestly, insistently.

John sighed. “Yes, I know you did and it was sweet of you. But I don’t – “

“Found Omega. He in trouble – Alpha come help.” The tugging resumed, much harder than before. That wasn’t what caught the doctor’s attention, though. It was the fear in those big, brown eyes. Fear for what? The Omega? Himself? It was difficult to tell. But it did give a hint as to what secondary gender Rafi might present as a few years down the line, even if it was stereotyping slightly.

It also managed to capture John’s full attention. “What do you mean, in trouble? What’s happened?” It certainly hadn’t sounded like there’d been anything wrong with the man the first time Rafi had mentioned him. What had changed? Why would an Englishman – a civilian Omega Englishman at that – be out here in the first place? It most certainly wasn’t on any kind of tourist trail.

“Alpha must come help.” Apparently Rafi wasn’t going to volunteer any more information until John started doing what he was told. So the Alpha moved in the direction the lad indicated with his tugging. They kept going like that, Rafi leading the way, until they were well outside the small village and even further from base camp.

“Rafi, stop.” The boy didn’t listen. “No, stop.” John halted and resisted the attempts to pull him along. Determination can lend a lot of strength, but a preteen against a grown adult would always struggle. Rafi glared at the doctor.

“I want to help, Rafi. I do. But I need more before I can help; more information, more time.”

Rafi shook his head vigorously at that. “No time,” he said. “No time, Alpha has to come _now._ It’s very important to come now.”

“Why?”

There was a particular look that children had, a look that communicated to the world the utter idiocy of adults and the child’s infinite patience in putting up with their stupidity. “Omega in danger, are taking him ‘way. Taking him ‘way _now!_ ”

The urgency in the voice finally managed to get through John’s reservations and he began to move again, letting Rafi lead him further away from the village and the camp. The boy moved fast, clearly familiar with the landscape in a way that only a local ever could be, but the Alpha kept up with him.

While they moved, a barrage of thoughts flitted through John’s mind. Who, exactly, was the Omega that Rafi had found? Why would a foreign Omega civilian ever come to such a place? What exactly had happened to make the boy so worried? Why was the Omega, who would be a prime target for any group or gang as a hostage or even just a few hours of fun, not guarded to prevent such things? If he had been kidnapped or similar, what could John as a lone man do? What would he do when, or if, he did manage to rescue the man?

His train of thought was cut short by the boy’s sudden shout. He focused on the road ahead where he spotted a battered jeep driving off. It wasn’t an old car, but clearly one that had been run somewhat ragged, giving its movements a jolting characteristic as it drove away at some speed.

As it did so, something else became very apparent. A not unexpected cacophony of personal scents wafted behind the vehicle. It was mostly comprised of Alpha and, to a lesser degree, Beta scents, but one scent in particular dominated and almost crowded out all of the others; that of an Omega who was just about to enter his Heat.

As soon as the pheromones reached John’s nostrils he felt their effect. Not only did they provoke the usual response of stirrings in his nether regions, but they also made his mouth water and his own pheromones spike in a way that he hadn’t experienced before, even though he had indeed been with quite a few Omegas in his time, in Heat and out of it. That was puzzling.

He blinked. In his mental absence the jeep had disappeared around a rock formation. It didn’t present too much of an obstacle, though. So long as he didn’t hesitate for too long, the pheromone stew would be traceable to anyone with the proper olfactory equipment.

“Say Omega in danger,” Rafi commented, pride and a hint of smugness in his voice.

“You did, Rafi, you did. Well done and thank you for telling me.” The Alpha clasped a hand on the boy’s shoulder and squeezed it in thanks. There was something that he needed to ask, however. “But how did you know he was an Omega?” Children wasn’t able to discern the particular scents that marked out each secondary gender, relying mostly on behaviour in relation to societal norms, so they often mixed up meek Betas with Omegas.

The smile evident in the eyes of the lad faded. Instead he bit his lip and looked away. “Rafi?”

At first the boy didn’t answer. “Can smell...smell him,” he muttered after John said his name again. “Smell like mother last month. Smell like...me.” He looked up at that, right into the doctor’s eyes. His eyes were full of pleading and fear and were slightly damp. He knew what it meant that he could now scent other people and himself. He was probably even aware of what the consequences of being able to at his age could entail.

“That’s why you told me and not one of the other soldiers, was it? Because as a doctor I’d understand better than them?” The boy nodded slowly. “Because you wanted that Omega safe? Why didn’t you tell someone in the village?”

“You not tell. Tell on me. Omega safe, I safe.”

“No, I wouldn’t. I would never tell others unless you wanted me to, Rafi, I promise.” He put his other hand on the free shoulder and looked earnestly at the child. “Do you believe me that I wouldn’t?”

Rafi hesitated, but then he nodded vigorously. “Alpha save Omega now?” he asked, brave once more.

John took a moment to consider his options. It was a risk, to be sure, and not only the rescue itself, though that would be dangerous enough on its own. With an Omega so close to his Heat that it could be smelled as pungently as that, the danger of the Heat actually occurring during the rescue was very high, never mind the trek back to the camp.

Normally the Alpha had a pretty strong sense of self, not to mention restraint, during the Heats he’d shared with Omegas over the years. He felt fairly certain he’d be able to handle himself, even when taking into consideration his reaction just then to the pheromones, but there wasn’t only John to consider in that equation. The guy hadn’t been taken out for a nice picnic with a bunch of other Omegas, had he?

Making his mind up, John gave the boy’s shoulder a final squeeze before he set off in the direction the jeep had taken. He had a gun with him, but that was about all he had. That and his wits, obviously. Oh, god, they were both going to end up dead, weren’t they?

 

* * *

 

It was getting on towards dark by the time he’d caught up with the jeep, tracking it by a combination of the tracks it left behind and the scent that lingered like a trail of breadcrumbs. When that thought occurred to him, he tried to shut down on the further rumination on whether or not that meant he’d find a gingerbread house and a hungry witch at the end of it.

Before he managed to shut the thought down completely it struck him that a hungry witch might be preferable to whoever he might actually be facing, but he’d deal with that after he’d done some recognisance.

So he worked his way closer to what he’d describe as an abandoned hangar or something of the like. There were no visible windows anywhere on the building and when he did manage to locate a door on the back of the hangar, someone was standing in front of it. Going by the smell, what little there was of it, the man was a Beta, which more than likely accounted for why he was the one stationed on the outside.

If he was going to have any chance of rescuing the Omega, he would need to take the man out without raising too much of a ruckus and therefore arouse suspicion that something was amiss. He most certainly wasn’t going to be able to do much recognisance from the outside.

There was no doubt that he’d found the right place, though, since the scents of both Alphas and the pungent smell of the Omega was clearly detectable through the door, even though it was closed.

Making a quick decision, John picked up a stone and threw it in the opposite direction. By luck or a good throwing arm he managed to throw it sufficiently far to indicate that he was somewhere he wasn’t, but not too far, and land somewhere that produced a conspicuous noise.

If he was being honest, he didn’t hold to much hope that it would work. It was a pretty amateur move that anyone remotely trained shouldn’t react to in a way that would be beneficial to the doctor.

It didn’t seem like the man they’d posted was even close to being trained, though; his head swivelled in the direction of the sound and he made ready to move towards it. Before he had a chance to, however, John had stepped behind him and hit him with a stone in the back of the head. The man groaned quietly as he went down and the Alpha just managed to catch him so that he could lay him down as quietly as possible out of the way.

When he started opening the door as silently as he could, he soon realized that the likelihood of them hearing him was rather minimal and so was the risk of them smelling him as he moved in. The latter was because of their own scents were strong enough that his own was lost in the olfactory din while the former had to do with the argument they were having.

He couldn’t understand the words themselves. Not only had he only managed to learn a few key phrases, they were speaking fast and agitated to the point that their speech became a jumbled mess to his ears.

What he could do as he moved forward, though, was observe them and their body language. When he got closer, he was also able to spot the Omega sitting bound to a chair between them. He almost wished he hadn’t seen him, however, as he could do without more distraction than was already provided by the man’s quite delicious scent.

There was no doubt as to why the group of men had chosen to kidnap this Brit in particular. Though taller and slightly more masculine than was usual for a stereotypical male Omega, there was a certain beauty to the long, lithe frame, the firm yet narrow jaw, long, slender neck and the mass of curls. When John moved even closer, he could see the cupid bow lips, too, but he could also see the sharp, calculating gaze coming from the pale eyes. The man might be an Omega, but trifling with him was evidently a decidedly bad idea.

Not that it seemed like the kidnappers had gotten the memo, but then they’d probably not bothered looking past the good looks or the fact that he was a very lovely-smelling Omega.

That did leave the question of how they had even managed to capture him in the first place, but John didn’t get much of a chance to dwell on that; as he watched from behind a pile of stuff and boxes just behind the bound prisoner, one man grabbed hold of one of the others, clearly trying to assert his dominance over him. When the message wasn’t received and the grabbed man growled in defiance, he received a harsh slap across the face while something was shouted at him. The doctor tried to work out whether that would be to his advantage when factoring in the three other men sitting close by, dividing their attention between their prisoner and the altercation between two of their comrades.

“I should wait a little longer, if I were you,” came a baritone whisper from close by him. It took John a few seconds to register that someone had spoken at all and that they were actually speaking in rather posh English.

For a moment he tensed, certain that one of the kidnappers was able to speak English and had spotted him. Then he saw that it was the man they’d kidnapped. One eyebrow was raised as he looked over and he wore an expression that indicated only the slightest amount of surprise.

The frown on the blonde’s face prompted him to continue. “They’re arguing over whether to ship me off immediately or…sample the merchandise, as it were. The sensible thing, if you have the intention of attempting to be a hero, would be to wait until most of them leaves to return to their mates for the evening meal. That would leave you with far fewer opponents to deal with when –“ He abruptly stopped talking, which was explained by the argument having stopped and attention having turned back towards him. John fervently hoped that the talking hadn’t been taken as anything more than the peculiarities of a foreigner and that they hadn’t sussed out there was anyone there that shouldn’t have been.

Luckily it did not seem as if there was any reason to be nervous; the five men’s focus had been on themselves and their disagreement. To add to his good luck, three of the men soon stood up not long afterwards, the man who had asserted his dominance leading the man he’d disagreed with as well as one of the others outside. The man who’d wanted to get a little taste of the Omega kept casting glances at him as they walked, but were kept going in the opposite direction by the firm grip the dominant Alpha had on his neck.

The two remaining kidnappers settled back into their chairs, sharing the meal one of them had brought with him. John assessed them as best he could from the position he had taken behind the junk, trying to work out which one would be most practical and efficient to tackle first.

The logical choice would be to go for the burliest one first, as even if the other man managed to react before he had taken the larger Alpha down, he wouldn’t pose as much of an obstacle as if it was the other way around. More than that, neither of them looked like professional of either the military or criminal kind.

He settled down to wait, hoping that playing the waiting game would end up with two tired men, which would be far easier to overman and there was every sense in conserving his strength for the trek back to base camp with a civilian in tow. He had to be careful while he waited, though, since the longer he stayed, the longer he was exposed to the quite delectable smell coming from the Omega. It was quite distracting and if he was to have any chance of staying focused on the task at hand, he needed to block it out as best he could.

Apparently he wasn’t the only one affected. Throughout the meal, the two other Alphas kept casting glances at the tall man sitting bound in the chair, trying to do so when they thought no one was observing them. The other Brit seemed to notice every time it happened, which was unusually observant for a civilian, but then again, he was clearly anything but stupid, if the calculating, intelligent look in his eyes was anything to go by.

Suddenly one of the men got up from where he was sitting, walking towards their prisoner while he said something to the other, which was probably an excuse as to why he was getting closer to him.

It was the skinnier one, which was less than ideal for John’s plans, but there was nothing to be done about it. He cursed under his breath, then leapt over pile of stuff he had been hiding behind to deliver a blow to the other as soon as he came near. Due to the angle the doctor was punching from, his momentum and the jerk of surprise from the other man, instead of the blow landing in the cheek as it was meant to, the fist hit him squarely on the underside of the jaw. It sent his head backwards with a nasty crack that made the doctor inside John wince, but the soldier didn’t have the time to give it much consideration.

The bulkier man had risen and was coming towards him, a sneer on his lip as went to face the intruder. The man didn’t appear to have any kind of gun on his person, which at first seemed enormously stupid, but it more than likely had to do with the lack of expectation of a fight, not to mention the man’s obvious faith in his mass and strength as an Alpha to see him through.

Too bad John was a soldier, a good one at that and one that had a knife on him and was far from averse to using it if push came to shove.

The man began moving to the side keeping John in his view, clenching and unclenching his fists, trying to bait the blonde into attacking, but he wasn’t falling for it. Instead he held his ground, keeping the man in the chair firmly behind him so as to keep him as safe as possible given the circumstances while he kept a close eye on his opponent. If the man wanted to play big, intimidating Alpha, that was fine by him. They usually ended up doing something stupid in the name of masculine bravado.

Indeed, it didn’t take long for the idiot to try to make a move; he got a look in his eyes that he probably thought was cunning, right before he charged straight on towards John, head down low and arms to the side as if he was going grab the other and squeeze the life out of him.

Only he wasn’t quite cunning enough to work out that you needed to coordinate your movements carefully when you made that sort of gesture, at least if you wanted to keep in control of your movements. As it was, John was able to sidestep the charging man, though he unfortunately kept his balance as he ran, unsettled by the dodge as he was.

He did stumble a moment later, falling heavily onto the floor face first. The reason for his fall was sitting calmly with a small smirk on his face, one long leg stretched out fully in front of him. The smirk only widened when he turned his head slightly to look at John, an odd look lurking deep in his eyes.

“Best get on with it if you’re going to kill him, soldier.”

John moved at that, but only to plant a boot on the small of the bulkier Alpha’s back, looking back at the Omega and raising an eyebrow. “And why would I kill him, pray tell?” He pressed his foot down slightly as if to illustrate his point.

The brunette looked surprised for a moment, then the smirk returned, much broader the second time around. “Well, quite apart from the fact that you have already killed one of them – and quite skilfully at that, which indicates that he wasn’t your first kill, even though you are a doctor, which would account for the way your jaw is set tight – with nothing more than a well-aimed punch, you can hardly afford to have someone recognize your face if you let him live. Not when you’re going to abscond with an Omega they kidnapped in order to make money off and you’ve already killed one, no, sorry, two, of their comrades.”

John frowned at that. Not because of the logic of the argument, which was pretty solid, but because something else bugged him about the conversation. “That was quite brilliant, but how did you know I’m a doctor?”

“Apart from the minute wince you made when you heard the crack of the man’s spine, not so much because you were abhorred what you’d done, but because that is a painful, if expedient way to die? Oh, nothing really, except for the assessment you made when you first saw me to catalogue what injuries I may or may not have.” He raised an eyebrow to match John’s. “Not exactly the normal response by an Alpha in the presence of an Omega close to his or her Heat.”

“Not exactly the normal situation to find a British, civilian Omega in the middle of the desert while there is an ongoing war,” John countered calmly, not fazed in the slightest by the challenging look in the man’s eyes.

He then bent down, turning the head of the man under him and slitting his throat in as swift a stroke as he possibly could. The man gasped in shock and pain and shuddered as his blood pumped out of him. After about a minute he stopped and lay still on the ground.

“A much more efficient way to employ the knife would have been to cut at the back of the neck to sever the brainstem,” the Omega commented. “It would also have resulted in far less of a mess of blood, leaving less evidence.”

“I highly doubt they’d be smart enough to work out where we’re headed even if I got my boots soaked enough to leave prints for more than a few steps, clever clogs.” He didn’t mention comment on the brainstem; the man was right on that particular point. “Now are you going to let me use this inefficiently employed knife to untie you?”

The brunette complied and raised his bound hands slightly from the position they’d had resting against the back of the chair he was sitting on.

“Not clever clogs. Sherlock.”

“Hm?” John wasn’t paying much attention as his focus was on the surprisingly thin leather cord that had been used to tie the other up. It had been bound unexpectedly well, however.

“My name is Sherlock.”

“Ah. Well, nice to meet you, Sherlock. I’m John. Perhaps we can postpone the handshake for the moment?” He worked steadily, cutting the cord a little at a time so that the blood could flow back into the hands slowly so as not to cause too much unneeded tingling and lack of coordination.

When he’d cut through the cord, he grabbed hold under an arm and helped the Omega to his feet, doing his best to ignore the continued onslaught of the man’s pheromones on his senses. When Sherlock was upright, he tried to pull away and stand on his own, but John wasn’t having it.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” he admonished as he tightened his grip around the man’s waist. Trying to walk normally with that leg wound without assistance would cause you unnecessary pain and potentially open the wound again. I suppose that is why they were able to kidnap you?”

“Not too terrible a deduction, doctor,” Sherlock replied, though he didn’t sound as condescending as his choice of words would suggest. “It’s several days old, however, so the risk of it opening again –“

“Is still present, especially since you have not been taking care of it since it happened or even had the bandage changed, judging by the grime caking the cloth. An infection in a desert environment without access to antibiotics is highly dangerous. You’re clearly an intelligent person, so why are you being this utterly stupid?”

Sherlock kept his mouth shut at that, lips pressing together in a thin line and glaring slightly at the Alpha. Not that it bothered John. He was there to help this Omega, Sherlock, back to safety where he’d hopefully stay put until someone could bring him back to old Blighty, nothing more, nothing less. Regardless of how enticing the man smelled or how interesting he seemed with his undoubtedly sharp mind, that was all that was going to happen.

So he stared back for a moment, then pointedly took a step forward, still with an arm around the waist of the other. Then he took another, forcing the taller man to follow him if didn’t want to fall over. He could of course try to wiggle out of the grip, but given that he did have a wound covering a good portion of his lower leg and past his ankle, he wouldn’t be able to put his weight on it for any length of time and certainly not for the entire trek back to safety.

But with the help of the shorter man he was able to walk with him to the back of the hangar. John stopped there, opening the door carefully. The man he’d knocked out was still there, out stone cold where he’d fallen.

After nudging him to make sure that he wasn’t merely faking being unconscious, the blonde went back to the Omega who he’d propped up against some old boxes. There was a slight pained look to his features, but whether that was purely due to his injured leg and foot or there was some hint of Heat breaking through, he didn’t know. As soon as the man saw him looking, though, the expression was instantly replaced with a confident, if cold mask.

“You alright for travelling?” John asked, his voice just a hint gentler than he intended.

“Of course,” Sherlock replied calmly, pushing himself off the boxes. He didn’t cling to enough stupid pride to refuse the arm he was offered. Together they made their way over the prone man and out into the darkness.

“You do know where we’re going, do you?”

John rolled his eyes with a smile as he guided the man, ignoring the weight on him and the continued tightness of his trousers. “Honestly, no idea. I thought we’d take the scenic, romantic route. You know, drink in the sights and so on. Get to know each other.”

Sherlock didn’t reply, but when the doctor glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, a small smile was quirking his lips. That made John smile, too, for whatever reason.

 

* * *

 

“Shit.”

“Very eloquent.”

“Well, I think when we’re still a few miles from base camp – that is, if we’re still heading in the right direction – and there’s a sandstorm coming up on our right, I’m allowed to be less than creative with my swearing.” He paused for a few moments as he focused on moving forward another hundred yards. That and swearing, as he really had hoped he’d be able to bring them both back to safety before the Omega’s Heat hit. No such luck, sadly, and as a bonus, the Heat seemed to progress quicker than anticipated. “Of course I could just drop you. Would be much easier to run the distance without a scarecrow on my back.”

Instantly he felt a tightening all over as the arms and legs of the man on his back gripped tighter onto him.

“Guess that’s a no, then.” He adjusted his grip on the legs around him, making sure they wouldn’t slip from their position. “I’m going to head over that way.” He gave a nod in the given direction and started to walk.

“Why?” The words were mumbled.

John didn’t bother answering as he knew the man would know. He wasn’t stupid; he would have spotted the lip of the cave up ahead, too, and known that it was highly unlikely that they would managed to reach basecamp before the storm hit.

Especially seeing as the Omega’s Heat was still progressing and there was every likelihood it would start in earnest in the coming few hours. Out in the middle of a desert caught in a sandstorm was a dangerous place to be to begin with. Adding in instincts taking over, it was a proper nightmare.

So more than likely the man on his back wasn’t aware of what he was saying as the pain from leg would have been greatly exacerbated by their trek and the exhaustion had set in, dragging the man slowly towards sleep.

The theory was confirmed when the grip on the doctor gradually began to lessen and a soft snore emanated from somewhere close to his ears.

“Right, then, on we go.”

There was one good thing about the mess that they found themselves in; with the storm kicking in, there would hardly be any trace of them left to follow, either as marks in the sand or marks in the air.

Then they just had to hope they’d make it to the cave in time.

 

* * *

 

It would be just his luck that the place he’d found to seek shelter would already be occupied, either by animals or human beings. So to make sure they were safe, he put down his burden a little way from the cave when they finally made it close, checked that he still had time before the storm hit and went to look inside.

It was twenty minutes later that he returned to the other man who’d woken up in the intervening time, though he still seemed tired.

“Water?” he asked, rasping ever so slightly.

“I’ll give you some when we reach our accommodations.” John held out a hand. “Think you can walk?”

“I am not weak, _doctor_ ,” Sherlock answered, a bit of bite in his voice. He took the proffered hand and hauled himself upright. He didn’t let go of the hand when he’d regained his balance, however. “I can walk just fine.”

“That’s a bit rich coming from the man who’s been piggybacking for the last few miles,” the soldier answered as he let go of the hand in his and instead wrapped his arm around the waist of the Omega, telling himself that there was no hint of possessiveness to the gesture. None whatsoever.

What surprised John was the way that the taller man returned the gesture by setting his surprisingly large, bony hand on the blonde’s hip, anchoring him in place as much as he was anchored himself. Something coiled in the pit of his stomach that wasn’t merely lust.

Together they made their way, slowly and carefully, towards the opening of the cave. When they got inside and as far away from where the sand could reach, it was evident that John had spent as much time on making it as comfortable inside as he could as manage in the timeframe as he had actually making sure the place was uninhabited. Not that there was much that he could do with what he had, but he had tried.

He led the Omega over to where he’d put his jacket down and motioned for the man to lay down. He got raised eyebrows for his troubles, which he refused to be annoyed by. He shrugged. “Suit yourself. It’s that or the ground, your decision.”

He found a small shelf to sit down on and made himself comfortable, all the while looking at the Omega. The taller man stood, trying not to stand on his injured leg, and looked at his makeshift ‘bed’ with a slightly disdainful air. Then he sighed, a tad too dramatically to the Alpha’s mind, and pulled off the brown coat he’d been wearing, laid down on John’s jacket and pulled the coat up to cover him.

Things went quiet for a while after that, not counting the growing howling of the wind outside. Then pale eyes became visible over the collar of the coat. “The water!” He held out a hand.

“Bossy,” John countered, but got up nevertheless and went over with his small water bottle in his hand. When, after kneeling down, he held it out for the brunette to take, the long fingers gripped and at the same time managed to caress the blonde’s own stubbier ones.

John jerked slightly in surprise and looked into the eyes of the other. There was still some cunning to be found in the pale eyes, but it was heavily tempered with a simmering, alluring heat, which was only enhanced by the fact that the eyes had become half lidded.

“You smell delicious,” the baritone voice said softly, huskily. There was an invitation there, but that didn’t mean the Alpha was going to take it.

“That would be the hormones talking,” he said as he managed to withdraw his hand, leaving the bottle in Sherlock’s grip, and stand back up. He didn’t look at the other as he continued. “Best get some sleep if you can manage it. You’ll need it.” It took a lot of effort to walk back to his little shelf and away from the Omega, but somehow he managed to do it.

By the time he had sat down, the mop of dark curls matted with sand was again hidden by the coat. Soon after there was a light snore emanating.

An hour passed, then another. John wondered whether he should sleep himself, but dismissed the idea as inadvisable. There were people looking for them, after all, and there was nothing to guarantee that something or someone wouldn’t yet try to seek shelter from the storm in here. So he had to keep watch and make sure his Omega was safe.

He blinked. _His_ Omega? Since when had he become that possessive? Since when had he become possessive towards someone he’d met only hours before, even when taking the reek of pheromones into consideration.

_You rescued him_ , a small inner voice answered him. _You defended him and fought off potential rivals, killing them to make sure. You provided for him, both shelter and water – and he has accepted all of it._

“Yeah, like anyone wouldn’t accept that given the circumstances,” he muttered under his breath. He couldn’t deny that he’d been flying at the very least half mast in his trousers since before seeing him in the hangar or that he itched to be able to touch that skin or leave marks down that long neck. But that was Alpha instinct talking, as was the arguments that he’d done all that to lay a claim and that it was accepted as such.

He was better than that. The man, Sherlock, deserved as much respect as a _human being_ as he did, secondary gender be damned. Just because his instincts were telling him to take that gorgeous arse that had been rubbing against the small of his back all the time he’d carried the man, to bury himself deep, spill his seed and claim the Omega as his own, didn’t mean that he should act on it or that he wanted to.

More than tired, he ran a hand through his hair, shaking the sand out his own hair. He did want to, though. He couldn’t deny that and it wasn’t just his instincts. The man was undeniably quite clever and had a sharp tongue, he didn’t flinch or panic in dangerous situations and he was quite headstrong, if the wound on his leg and his refusal to be careful because of its state was any indication. None of It was how a typical Omega would behave or even how a non-stereotyped Omega would likely act. Not that it was the break from expectance itself that made him interesting; it was the things that went into that break.

But all of that was immaterial. The fact of the matter was that Sherlock would be going into Heat in this cave; in a few short hours at the most he would be moaning and writhing to have something in him, to have an Alpha quench that dreadful emptiness inside of him. Unluckily for him, there was an Alpha nearby to service him and in all likelihood he would try to get that Alpha to mount him, regardless of what his sober thoughts on the matter were.

And that was the crux of the matter, wasn’t it? There would be no choice on Sherlock’s part, at least not a conscious, uninfluenced one that would bear any weight after the fact. He might need John, but he did not _want_ him. He might have earned the nickname of ‘Three Continents Watson’, but John’s previous partners had all been consenting and that was not going to change. He could keep his hands to himself and he would, no matter how long it took for the Heat to pass.

There was a muffled sound coming from the man lying on the ground. Thinking that it might have been a call of pain, John was beside him in a flash. “Sherlock? Sherlock, what’s wrong? Can you hear me?” His hand went to shake the shoulder of the man, but it was grabbed and held before he managed it.

“Stop thinking so bloody loud, it’s annoying,” Sherlock repeated in a clearer voice. Although his tone suggested annoyance, the look in his eyes and the very firm, not to say vicelike, grip spoke of something else entirely. John reckoned it was hormone-driven. His theory was borne out by the increased pheromones emanating from beneath the coat and wafting in the air around them.

“Well, if I’m not allowed to think, can I at least take a look at your wound?” His attempts at extracting his hand had proved unsuccessful so far.

With what seemed like great reluctance, Sherlock nodded and let go of the hand in his after a few moments of deliberation.

John moved down to push the coat aside, taking care not to let out too many pheromones as he did so. Then he gently grabbed hold of the injured foot with one hand and pushed up the tailored trouser leg so that he could take a look.

What he saw didn’t sit well with him. The bandage had been put on properly and there was no sign of blood, but there were a few splotches of seeped liquid to be seen, which could be an indication of infection, not to mention the amount of sand caking the cloth, threatening further complications.

“We need…to get this…re-bandaged.” The pauses came from another inhale of pheromones, ones that seemed stronger than any of the others.

The reason for that became apparent as the brunette pushed the coat from his body completely, revealing that he had opened his trousers while he’d been underneath the cover of the cloth and had shoved them and his pants down so that both his arse and his erect cock were out in the open and clearly visible from the doctor’s viewpoint, even if he was lying on his back. One hand had found its way down to the erection and had started gently stroking; John dimly noted that it was the same hand that had gripped his previously and he swallowed heavily.

“What are…you doing?” he asked, cursing the slight shakiness of his voice.

“What does it look like?” Sherlock shot back. He adjusted his hand for a firmer grip and moaned quietly, his eyes fluttering shut. “I’ve been lying here…oh, god…lying here waiting for you…hah….to _do_ something and…mmmh…all you’ve done is…is sit there and _think!_ ”

“What would you have me do?!” He tried not to look at the spectacle before him, he truly did. But having had the frankly delectable scent of the Omega in his nostrils for so long and now having it be so much stronger and better, coupled with the sounds the brunette was making kept drawing his eyes firmly back the times he tried to look away. His cock was throbbing almost painfully in the confines of his trousers.

“Fuck me!” There was no mistaking the needy desperation in that voice. “Just fuck me. I need you.”

“No.”

The hand working the penis stopped, eliciting a small, involuntary whine, and pale eyes shot open to pierce the Alpha. “No?” he echoed, disbelieving. “What do you mean ‘no’?”

“I’m not going to fuck you.” It took an unbelievable amount of battling with his instincts to get those words out.

Pale eyes narrowed. “You want to.” The tone was accusatory, even if there a smidgeon of whine in it too.

“Of course I want to!” John burst out. “How can I _not_ want to? You’re bloody clever, you’re strong, you’ve got an absolutely gorgeous body and you smell bloody divine!”

“Then fuck me!” The hand resumed its movements, faster than before, working a groan from cupid bow lips.

“No!” The doctor’s chest heaved, from exertion and lust. “I’m not going to rape anyone.”

“Hardly counts…as rape when…oh, _yes_ …when I’m begging you…mmh…to do it.” Sherlock’s head fell back at the stimulation.

“Yes, it does when…oh, god, don’t stop…you’re influenced by Heat.” John argued, though his argument was weakened by his hand palming his member through his trousers. When one long finger found its way into the twitching hole between Sherlock’s legs and an obscene moan sounded in the cave, the doctor’s hands gained a mind of their own; they opened the belt and the trousers as quickly as they could, bringing his cock out in the open.

The scent from such a pheromone heavy area reached the Omega’s nostrils, making him whine highly and shudder violently as he came, semen coating his belly and slick drenching his finger.

The sight was almost enough to make the Alpha come, too. How he managed not to, he had no idea.

John watched as the taller man lay there on the ground, trying to regain his breath and stop shuddering. When he finally spoke, his voice was breathy and unsteady. What was surprising was the eloquence he retained. “You do realize that it’s only going to become worse? You being noble and proper is ever so sweet, but the strain from trying to deny me and yourself will eventually snap your willpower, possibly your mind if you cling on long enough, and your instincts will take over. Do you want to hurt me by fucking me like a beast when you reach that point?”

“Who says I’m not going to be like that in any case?” John asked in a tight voice.

“I do.”

The Alpha laughed; it was a brittle one. “And you know that, do you? You can just tell?”

“Yes, I can. I have already shown you my skills.” Sherlock sighed and sat up, wincing slightly as the change in position put pressure on his sensitive hole. “Would it help if I told you that I wanted you before I saw you or smelled you?” He moved closer, ignoring the way that John tried to scoot away. “That a little boy kept talking about you when I met him two weeks ago and, when he pointed you out, I could see why he would.” _Oh, could he ever – and Mycroft had said there’d been no reason to go out there!_

John’s brow furrowed at that and he stopped moving for a moment. A boy? “You mean Rafi?”

“Possibly. I am never good with names. Usually they are completely irrelevant.” The Omega was now as close as he could be to the Alpha without actually touching him. His expression after he’d come had been rather clear and focused, but the haze of Heat was slowly creeping into his eyes again. They flickered down to the doctor’s lips and further down to his cock still standing to attention and he wet his own lips. “Please, John. I want you to do this. I need you to do it. I need you.” He leaned closer still, his face hovering just in front of the other’s. “Will you please fuck me?”

With that, he pressed his lips to John’s, insistently. For a moment the Alpha hesitated, not moving in response. Then his willpower did indeed break; he groaned, long, deep and needy, and pressed back. One hand went to the small of the brunette’s back while the other tangled itself in the soft curls, holding fast, effectively securing him in place as his mouth was pried open and plundered by an eager tongue.

Sherlock made a sound in the back of his throat and opened his mouth wider, trying to push back as best he could, tangling his tongue with the invading appendage. Despite his enthusiastic attempts and his definite skill, however, there was no doubting who was in charge of the kiss.

When they parted, there was a small smirk playing on the cupid bow lips as they took in the blown, hazy look in the blue eyes of the doctor. The smirk quickly vanished, though, when the Alpha moved down to lick and, more importantly, nip at the long neck. It was replaced with an open mouth gasping in surprised pleasure, a shudder running through him at the sensation being transmitted by highly sensitive nerve endings.

“John…” he moaned softly. He attempted to arch his neck for better access, but there was still a hand in his hair, holding his head in place. So instead he let his hands roam, but he let out a frustrated noise when they found clothes instead of the soft, enticing skin they wanted to touch.

There was one place that wasn’t covered, though.

When one hand tried to sneak its way between their bodies, it was quickly and deftly grabbed and dragged up and away.

“Not yet,” was whispered into his ear and the tone of voice sent a shiver through him. “You started it. You wanted me to take you, said you could handle it.” He hadn’t said anything of the sort, but right now he wasn’t going to argue. “Now you do what I want you to do, is that understood?” The Alpha pulled a bit on the curls in his grasp to underline his point.

Sherlock let out a small noise that was probably meant as aquiessence, but it could as well have been just a sound of pleasure as his hair was pulled. The doctor filed that for future reference while he was still capable of thinking at least somewhat coherently.

Not that he had much capacity for it. Being so close to such a delicious Omega, who was wet and eager and smelled even better after he’d come, and not just plunging in was frying pieces of his brain. The rest were being consumed by his instincts.

He continued to nip and suck his way down the long neck, leaving his partner in no doubt that he was going to stake his claim, not that there seemed to be any objection. When he reached the collar of the man’s shirt, he dragged the hand he was still holding up to the buttons. Sherlock quickly caught on and started to unbutton his shirt with slightly trembling fingers, John nipping and licking at his ear all the while, which did nothing for the trembling.

When the item of clothing was finally unbuttoned, the doctor pushed it roughly aside. To his dismay he saw that there was a thin vest blocking his access to the pale, soft flesh, though the way the nipples stood hard and erect beneath the fabric, making two small damp patches, was more than pleasing.

With a growl he gripped hold of the cloth with both hands and ripped, the tearing sound very pleasing to his ears. As soon as the torso was bared to him, he leaned forward, gripping onto its sides as he did so, and licked around one of the nipples. It produced a mewl from the brunette, which turned into a choked gasp as his nipple was pulled into a warm, wet mouth and sucked on.

Bony hands found their way into blonde hair as Sherlock pressed his chest into the sensation, needing more. When he felt a trickle of liquid being suckled from him, he could also feel his entrance spasm and he let out another gasp that ended in a quiet keen.

“Please…more, please…” the Omega begged in a whisper. He still had his trousers and pants pushed halfway down his thighs, which were preventing him from moving into the Alpha’s lap, but he still tried to rock into any kind of contact.

John let his mouth pop off the hardened nub. He had a smidgeon of liquid still on his bottom lip, but he waited until he had the attention of the taller man before he let his tongue slip out and slowly run across the lip, catching some of the liquid, enjoying the way the pale eyes stared, transfixed. What he didn’t get with his tongue, he brought up his index finger to catch and when he had, he pressed the finger against the seam of cupid bow lips.

Sherlock’s eyes widened a fraction in surprise as he took the digit into his mouth, lapping up what little liquid that was there. He almost bit down on the finger, startled, when he felt another digit, this one between his cheeks, circling around his aching entrance, dipping in occasionally, which caused the Omega not only to let go of the finger, but to push back in an effort to get that inside of him properly, without much luck.

“John, if you’re going…to fuck me, then…don’t _tease me so_!” he snapped, pushing down hard just when the finger next dipped inside, pushing it in far further than was the intention, making him throw his head back and groan.

He was punished for his impertinence a moment later when the finger was abruptly removed and he was pushed, not to the point that he would fall backwards onto the hard, unforgiving cave floor, but enough that he knew his actions weren’t approved of.

Confirmation was brought home by the next words out of the soldier’s mouth. “You’re not the one in charge here, Sherlock. If I want to tease you and your pretty little hole, then that is what I’ll do, for as long as I want to.”

An unexpectedly devilish grin settled on his features, which was both somewhat unsettling and very arousing to the Omega. “That’s all that you are right now, isn’t it? A pretty hole that is begging to be filled by any Alpha capable and willing, pounding into you and filling you over and over until you’re full to brimming and completely, utterly sated. Perhaps you were even looking forward to that gang of Alphas taking their turns with you, never leaving you without a long firm cock inside you, plugging you up.” A small, distressed noise was his only answer. “Well, too bad, since you’re mine now. _My_ Omega and I don’t have any intention of letting you go or sharing you with _anyone_. Now get on your hands and knees.”

The last words were delivered in a tone of command that had Sherlock nodding, not much trace of his previous demeanour left at that moment, and he scrambled to obey, rolling around after kicking off his trouser and pants and pulling himself up to the demanded position, spreading his legs as far apart as he could without losing his balance and pushing out the plush arse in invitation, in silent pleading. His hands stayed firmly on the ground as he’d been instructed.

John’s smile changed to something less devious and dangerous. He still felt the possessiveness keenly as well as the Alpha instincts, but the sight before him of a needy, desperate and trembling Omega, who was competent and intelligent in his normal life, waiting as patiently as possible for him, John, to push into him and claim him was not only beautiful and enticing, but humbling.

What was particularly enticing to the soldier was the glimpse of the leaking, rosy entrance visible between the plush cheeks. John felt a strong urge to claim what was so beckoning him and he heeded it. Moving forward on his knees, he reached out to grab and spread the globes for better access.

When something warm and wet dragged from just behind his taught testicles all the way up to the top of his arse, it took an extraordinary effort from the Omega not to fall onto his elbows or, indeed, collapse entirely. He moaned, long and low, and arched his back.

“ _Please…!”_ The word was drawn out and desperate.

The Alpha didn’t answer, but he didn’t torture his partner any longer than he had to, either. He did need to know exactly how open Sherlock was, though, and so, after having to squeeze the base of his cock and the first signs of the knot due to the taste on his lips, he eased a finger inside, groaning at the way it was immediately sucked in by the twitching muscles until it couldn’t go any further. He pulled it out a way with a bit of difficulty as the muscles clenched around it, then, when he pushed back in, they fluttered around the two fingers just as easily as they had around the single, coating them in slick.

As John began to push the digits in and out, he became aware of the stream of words falling from the cupid bow lips.

“Oh, god…god, John, yes…more, yes, please…need more…need you in me…please, so good…can’t get…I’ll be good…I promise…just more…please, it hurts…please… _need you_ …now… _please!”_

The words went straight to the Alpha’s dick, making it twitch almost violently. He took a deep breath to steady himself, then withdrew his fingers. He moved forward slightly to position his leaking cock at the twitching entrance, gently nudging the top of the head inside, which earned him a hitched breath.

Before the Omega had a chance to push back to get more inside of him or even give a proper moan at the feeling, two strong hands grabbed him by the hips and pulled him backwards in one fluent motion, impaling him on the thick Alpha cock. He gave a strangled gasp which ended in a guttural groan of satisfaction.

“That’s right, Sherlock,” John whispered in ear, hot breath tickling. He rocked his hips slightly as he held the other in place by the hips. “You take me so well, like the good little Omega that you are. You’re so tight around me, gripping me so firmly…maybe I’m your first? Am I?”

There was no answer to his question, so he stopped moving completely until he got one. Eventually a minute nod came, almost unnoticeable in the trembling.

“Good.” The doctor kept his voice low; the huskiness came all on its own. “Nobody else has felt this and now no one else is going to. Isn’t that so, Sherlock?” He rocked his hips again, harder this time, which caused the taller man in his lap to bounce a bit. “Isn’t it?” A particularly hard thrust at a slightly different angle followed the words, which caused the head of his penis to brush against something with a different texture inside that warm, slick channel.

“Yes!” The word came out almost as a shout as the long, pale back arched wildly. “Oh, god, yes, John. Yes, anything. Anything! Just don’t stop. Please don’t stop.” The last words were almost a sob.

“Of course I won’t,” John soothed as he detached one hand to lay across the Omega’s chest, balancing him.

He kept the rhythm going, slowly building it stronger and starting to tremble himself as the experience of pounding into that gorgeous body hit him as everything he hadn’t even known he’d dreamed of. The pale skin was flushed and covered in a fine sheen of sweat, the visible muscles underneath flexing as they moved together, bony hands on John’s thighs in an effort to anchor him, the look of bliss on the fine features were just visible from the position he was in, the mind blowing smells wafting from him, and, most of all, the delicious noises emanating from that long throat, words gone for the moment. All of it served only to spur the Alpha on, moving faster and harder and deeper, eager to spend himself inside and fill up that hole, that _womb_ to capacity so that the brunette had no choice but to conceive, but at the same time reluctant for it to end. He didn’t want it to end, ever.

Sherlock wasn’t faring much better. His skin was on fire, his vision was blurry and his mind was blank except for the pleasure flooding it from every point on his body. He tried to voice what he was feeling, but nothing came out except primal noises. Not that he was sure that what he was feeling could even be articulated. When that warm, soft mouth descended onto his neck in time with an almost fully formed knot popping past his entrance, there was nothing but the white noise of pleasure and he was certain that he’d come.

He would have, if not for the hand squeezing at the base of his cock.

“Not…just…yet,” John panted behind him, having pulled away from the soft skin. He continued to thrust, quick and forceful, the knot larger every time it penetrated the Omega’s entrance. “Oh, god, you…have no idea…”

Sherlock whined, scratching at the thighs under his hands, his mind filling with the need to come, but also with the need to feel his Alpha come deep within him and finally quench that fire raging inside.

Suddenly the hand on his cock was removed; at the same time the curls at the nape of his neck was grabbed and pulled while the knot pressed inside and finished expanding, locking the Alpha in place. In combination it was enough to send the Omega off, a scream ripping from his throat as he came. A scream only prolonged by the feel of semen shooting deep inside as the clenching of the muscles around his cock triggered the Alpha’s own orgasm.

John tried to muffle his own groans and instinctively he sought the side of the brunette’s neck. He was only a fraction of an inch from the skin in front of him when he dimly realized his mouth was open and he was just about to bite down, not just on a piece of flesh, but the exact spot where, if he bit now, he would be bonding with the Omega.

In all the Heats he’d shared with Omegas through the years, that had never happened and he wasn’t about to let it happen now because of instincts.

Sherlock must have sensed what he was about to do, though, because one hand came up to grab the back of his neck and press his mouth and nose into just that spot on his own neck, which was pumping out pheromones like crazy. As soon as those pheromones hit, blue eyes grew hazed as instincts took over and he bit down hard, breaking skin. They both moaned deeply at the feeling, twitching as it triggered small orgasms for both of them.

Somehow, flesh still in his mouth, John managed to manoeuvre them both onto their sides where they spooned. Sherlock located his coat and managed to drag it up and over them without moving too much. He was drowsy after the exertion and, with the pleasant feeling of an Alpha cock and knot inside of him and a soft tongue licking at his bond bite, he quickly drifted off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

“You’re an _idiot_.”

Sherlock didn’t move. He was comfortable where he lay, even if he had dried sweat and semen on him and arm was cramped from having been slept on for a few hours. “Actually, I am a certified genius – and I should think you ought to talk to your bond mate significantly nicer.”

It didn’t seem to mollify the soldier at all. “That’s _exactly why_ you’re an utter idiot, you complete wanker. What the bloody hell were you thinking, letting me bite you? You know what that means!”

With an annoyed sigh, Sherlock turned around to face the other. “Of course I know what it means.” He took a moment to drink in the sight of his new partner, pupils still blown by the pheromones in the air and an angry expression on his face. It was gorgeous. “Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it.”

“It’s supposed to be enjoyable, that’s the point of a biological imperative! That doesn’t mean you should have done it like that. Or at all. Sharing a Heat is one thing, but bonding is something else entirely.”

The Omega frowned at that. “So you have no problem with knocking me up, but making an honest man of me is going too far?” There was a definite note of hurt in the baritone voice.

The anger drained away from the Alpha at that, but it was replaced with a look of shock and disbelief. “You’re not on contraceptives?”

“No, of course I’m not. Why do you think my scent was so strong?”

“Strength of scent has no definitive correlation with whether or not an Omega is on contraceptives. But that means…Jesus, Sherlock, why the hell did you let me near you? Well, the Heat, obviously, but…”

A part of Sherlock’s severely unused heart clenched at the look of pain and regret marring the features of his doctor. “John. Look at me.” Reluctantly he obeyed. “Listen carefully. I might have used the admission that I knew of you before to influence you to mount me, but that does not make it any less true. A lot of people in the village has been talking about you, including that boy, as had a few of the soldiers and I was more than intrigued. When I actually saw you in that hangar, it only confirmed what I’d already deduced. You’d make a perfect mate.” He shrugged. “So why would I have a problem with letting you near me?”

The brunette moved closer and John let him, opening his arms and cuddling him close. His voice was low and a bit angry when he spoke, though. “I notice you didn’t really take my opinion into account in that little scenario.”

“Do you object?” The words were cocky, but there was a smidgeon of uncertainty lurking in those pale eyes. John didn’t miss it.

“Being mated to an Omega who is a madman, genius twat who I know nothing about while I’m still a serving officer and that Omega idiot is also pregnant with my child?” He took a moment to ponder. “I should. I know I should. But somehow I don’t, at all.”

He planted a soft kiss on his mate’s lips, enjoying the feel of them while not being driven solely by lust and need. When he pulled back, they were both smiling. “I’m not going to quit being a soldier, though.” He thought of the child. “Not for a little while yet, at least.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to.” Sherlock snuggled even closer, staking his claim much as the Alpha had done earlier on him. The Heat was already starting to pull on him again, but for now he was enjoying the moment. “I’ll probably be dragged back home as soon as we land in camp, though, but I’ll wait for you back in London.” He grabbed the other’s wrist and dragged it down to his stomach. “We both will.” It was said with not an ounce of sappiness, but brimming over with certainty.

John smiled broadly with his entire being, which in turn sent tingles down Sherlock’s spine.

_Of all the ways to bond and start a family_ , the Alpha thought as he moved in for another, deeper kiss, _this certainly is a unique one._

Not that he was complaining in the slightest.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like I’m getting better at writing the smut, but that might just be me. I really enjoyed writing this, but I kinda feel like the story isn’t quite done, that there is a bit more to tell, though that might also just be me.  
> Oh, yeah, and I am aware that punching like that is extremely unlikely to cause death, but I hope you can bear with me on that score ^^
> 
> Feedback is very much loved and treasured :)
> 
> If you want to commission me, ask a question, give a prompt or just see what I occasionally post there that’s not on AO3 :) - http://elphenfan.tumblr.com/


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